Ephesians 6:10-18
Spiritual Warfare Part 3
INTRO: In 1845 two ships carrying 138 of England's finest sailors set sail for the Arctic: Led by Captain Sir John Franklin.
A.) Their Task? To chart the N.W. Passage around the
Canadian Arctic to the Pacific Ocean
B.) They
hoped that this effort would be the turning point in Arctic Exploration:
History shows it was!
1.) Not because of it's success, but because of
it's failure.
C.) The ships never returned; every crew member perished
1.)
And
those who followed in the expeditions path to the
pole
learned Valuable this lesson: Prepare for the
Journey!
D.) It seems
that Franklin's crew didn't
Although the voyage was projected to last 2 to 3 years, they only carried a 12 day supply of coal for the auxiliary steam engines.
A.) What
they lacked in fuel they made up for in entertainment.
Each
ship carried a 1,200 volume library
B.) A hand organ, china place settings for officers, as well as
cut glass
wine goblets and sterling flatware
1) They were More prepared for a Caribbean Cruise
than an Arctic Exped.
C.) The
sailors didn't bring any special clothing to protect them from the cold. Only their regular uniforms which were Noble - respectful, but thin and inadequate
Well As these two ships sailed , ill-prepared
into frigid waters the inevitable
occurred
A)
ice
coated the deck - the sea froze around the rudder - the ship was
trapped
B) The crew was stuck in freezing temperatures dressed in their
fine
uniforms but
not able to survive the conditions
1.)
They
all died - either from starvation or because they
froze to death - Because not prepared for the journey
C) Well Paul writing here in Ephesians 6 ALSO WANTS US TO BE PREPARED NOT FOR ARTIC EXPEDITION
FOR BATTLE
1) Been said: "The Christian
life is not a playground but a battleground" . But Our enemy would like us to think the
opposite.
D) He wants us to THINK We are on a cruise ship - Focus on fun
pleasure & entertainment
1) The Danger is for us to get so wrapped up in our
present surroundings that lose sight
of what
God has for us / where we are going?
E) IN the same
way that these men did not prepare for the journey that we would not prepare
for the Battle
1) So with
that in mind lets consider what Paul has to say
Now This is our third study in our look at
Spiritual Warfare
A) 1st Dealt with Satan &
His Strategy / plus Gods exhortation for us to Stand using the whole armor
of God
B) Last time in our 2nd study we began to look at the armor
that God has provided for us. {Paul in
Prison God gives him a visual illustration
C) We noted a distinction between the
pieces of Armor the first 3 are mentioned in the past tense Having
Belt of truth
/ Breastplate of
. / Shoes of peace!!!
D) They describe the results of your
salvation { Set free by the truth
Covered in the righteousness of Christ /
At Peace with God
1) The Focus of these first 3 pieces of armor are on who you are in Christ
The
2nd three pieces of armor SPEAK OF who Christ is in you!
A.)
Their
reference is in the present tense! Daily take up our
shield; our
helmet and our
sword- Praying Always !!!
B.) Daily
applying these pieces of armor in the
battle that we find ourselves in!
1.) Think about the statement - "Greater is He
that is in You than He that is in the world"
C)Guys, these last three pieces of the armor
describe what it means for
Christ
to be in the Christian
1.) It is Christ appropriated; applied to actual life!
D)
Pick up tonight considering first the Shield - 16
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all
the fiery Darts of the wicked one.
Have you ever noticed that someday, you just wake up
depressed.
A) Perhaps there is no good reason for us to feel
this way. We wake up in a blue mood first thing in the morning though we went
to bed very happy.
B) There is no good reason
for our depression. We do not know why this has happened. There is no
explanation we can see.
1) There is nothing wrong physically nothing
really that has happened but still we feel depressed. Ever experience that ?
C) Or even though you have been in the Lord for yrs
/ find yourself still wrestling with doubts.
1) Well, what is happening? We are experiencing what
Paul calls here "the fiery or flaming darts of the evil
one."
These are part of the wiles of the devil, the wiliness, the
stratagems of Satan. They come to us in
various forms.
A) Sometimes they are evil thoughts and imaginations
which intrude themselves suddenly upon our thinking,
B) They come often at the worst of times!!! We may be
reading the Bible, we may be bowed in prayer, sitting in Church { Guy Sunday
1) we may be thinking about something else quite
entirely when all of a sudden some filthy, lewd or crazy thought flashes into
our mind.
C) Sometimes these come as
doubts, and even blasphemies, sudden feelings we experience that perhaps
this Christianity is nothing but a big hoax
D) All Christians have had this sudden feeling that
perhaps it is all a fantasy, imagination.
1) Sometimes these thoughts
come in the form of sudden fears, anxieties, a fleeting sensation that things
are all wrong.
E) What is this? What are these thoughts ?
It is the fiery darts of the evil one! We NEED to recognize it as such.
1) Cheyenne {
Like them? } Not your thoughts
To combat
these thoughts Paul says above all we need to take up the Shield of Faith { Rom 10:17 - "Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of
God"
A) The faith to which Paul refers here
is not the body of Christian beliefs but basic trust in God which leads us to
act on those beliefs
B) We have already reminded ourselves of our belief
when we have put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the
shoes of peace.
1) That is our belief in what Christ is to us. Who
we are in Him .
C) But faith is more than that. This is
very important to see. Faith is acting upon belief. Faith is decision, action, resolution.
1) Faith is saying, "Yes, I believe Christ is the truth.
He is my righteousness, he is my peace. Therefore I am going to respond &
live in this fashion.
D) Faith is working out the
implications of belief. It is taking the general truth and applying it
to the specific situation and saying,
1) "If this be true, then this must
follow." That is the shield of faith.
So how is faith like a shield?
A)1ST FAITH IS LIKE A SHEILD because it covers the whole man
B) There were Two shields used by Roman soldiers in
Paul's day! One small round,
light, Attached to wrist - hand to hand combat
C) The other
shield was large - 2 1/2 feet wide and
4to5 feet tall- It was
made
of Solid wood - covered in metal/
1) It is this Larger Shield Paul is
referring to Here
covered the Whole man !!!!
1) This shield was used by the Romans as a very
vital piece of their armament!
In those days one of the finest weapons of the enemy was the
arrow! Shoot from distance - any angle
A)
Consequently
- take their shield and squat behind it and be
completely protected!
B) The enemy would
often take these arrows and rap the tip with cloth
- covered w/ pitch
1.)
Light
on fire -
become flaming missiles! / Hit target
not only -
puncture but burn
because it couldn't puncture
1.) And the metal extinguished the flaming
arrow missiles!
D) As this
Shield covered the entire SOLIDER against the flaming arrows of his
enemy
1) the Shield
of Faith covers us entirely against the fiery darts
Psa
5:12
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround
him as with a shield.
Prov 30:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put
their trust in Him.
A) It is our Faith in the Lord
and the truth of His word that helps us to overcome the enemy
1 John 5:4,5
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that
has overcome the world--our
faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he
who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1) Listen feelings will come and go / My feelings
are effected by the type
of day
- what you might eat!
C) Give me some Mexican food and dessert - feeling really
lousy!
1.) Our problem is we have become so accustomed
to believing our feelings as though they
were facts!
D) We never take them and say is this true? Instead
because of how feeling -
I feel this way -
therefore it must be true!
1.)This
is why so many are constantly defeated - living by feelings
Feeling,
Faith, and Fact were walking on a wall -
When Feeling took an awful fall,.
So close was Faith to Feeling,
That he stumbled and fell too.
But Fact remained and pulled Faith back, And Faith brought Feeling
too.
E) Faith needs to follow fact - The victory that overcomes
world is in our faith! / Faith is built
on facts!
So
Faith is Like a Shield First of all Because it Covers the Whole Man
2nd
Way that Faith is like a Shield is that FAITH BEARS THE BLOWS FOR THE MAN Himself !!!!! / Everything is connected to Faith !!!!!
A) Satan
throws his fiery darts at us seeks to place thoughts into our minds
thoughts that distract/ discourage /
Make depressed
B) But Faith bears the brunt of those arrows by
appropriating the truth
1) Because Faith is attached to the Fact
of Gods word Stands
C) It takes Faith to walk
in the FACT THAT we are covered
in the Righteousness of Christ !!!!
1) It takes Faith to
Embrace that Reality that IN CHRIST we are at Peace w/ God that enables
us to EXPERIENCE THE Peace of God in our Lives
D) It takes Faith Wear the Helmet of Salvation
Assurance that Saved
1)
it
takes Faith to Wield the Sword of the Spirit to stand on & Use the Word
of God BELIEVING it will not RETURN
VOID
When the enemy comes and attacks me during prayer saying -
He doesn't hear you!
A.) It is w/
the shield of faith that I remind myself of PSA 34:15-18
The eyes of the LORD
are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry
out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken
heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
B.) When He
comes trying to discourage me not to worship - you sound horrible - you are in sin
1.) With the shield of faith I am reminded that
God is looking for worshipers
2.) That
He inhabits the praises of his people
C) When the enemy shoots that arrow that
says - you can't do anything -
you are to weak
1.)
With
the shield of faith - I respond you are right - but His grace is sufficient ... boast in my
weakness
D.)When the enemy comes and whispers - your sin is
great!
Faith Responds: yes, but He is able to save to the uttermost!
E.) When he
shoots that arrow - God has cast you off - gone to far!
Faith
responds - no way -
1)"He hates
putting away He does not cast off his people neither does
He forsake his heritage"
2.) Never
leave or forsake
So those are
some examples of how we handle the Shield of Faith how it takes the blows of
the enemy
There is another way
to handle this shield - by experience
A.)
The
enemy comes whispering - bill -he is not going to take care of you
this time
B.) Reminded
of times in the past when the Lord saw you through
C.) Guys you
know what God has done in your life - don't doubt in difficulties
D) Remember what God was in the past He will be in
the present &in the
Future /
That is taking up your shield!
One last thing about
This Shield of Faith !
A) Often times in battle the soldiers would ban together w/ their
shields standing side by side shields up & over head
B) Make a human tank / march on their enemy / united & bound
together / covered by their shields / very effective
C) To me this is a perfect picture of what
the Lord can do when His
people are bound in faith !
D) The Lord says I am looking for those
who will in faith make a
stand / who will thru faith step out
in ministry
1) Type of faith that Led Jonathan & His armor
barrier to
say lets see what the Lord might want to do!
E) Type of faith that Elijah stood
against prophets of Baal / Gideon
And 300 men stood against army that # like the sand!/ Caleb
After the Shield Paul mentions the Helmet of
Salvation
1st
- What is the Helmet of Salvation
/ 2nd - How
having on this helmet effects our lives-
1st - What is the Helmet of Salvation?
A.)
When the Bible talks
about our Salvation - need to realize it is a
complete salvation. Past, present, future - covered!
Several years ago one of the astronauts who
walked on the moon was interviewed and asked, "What
do you think about as you stood on the moon and looked back at the earth?"
The astronaut replied, "I remembered how the spacecraft was built by the
lowest bidder."
We as Christians can rejoice that the work of salvation did not go to
the "lowest bidder" but was performed by an infinite God.
A) Complete : Fully effective covers
Past /Present & future
B.) Past:
Know sins are forgiven. Past
penalty of sin is taken away
1.) God
takes away the past penalty of our sin as we come to Christ
in repentance
C.)Also present: we are freed from the present power of sin in our lives
D)
Rom 6 - tells us that
our old man has been crucified w/ Christ - been raised to walk in a newness of
life
1)
Still a sinner
- still sin - but not in bondage to
sin but now sins power has been
severed - free walk after the spirit
Now these 1st 2 aspects of our
salvation are clearly seen in the 1st three pieces of armor.
A.) Past -
Breastplate of Righteousness - made righteous - covered by the righteousness of Christ
B.) Also Concerning
past - peace w/ God - Which effects present situation: set free by truth - experience peace of God
C.) But it is the 3rd aspect of Salvation that
the Helmet deals with. That's future
salvation.
D.) Freed from past penalty - present - power
And the helmet looks forward to
when I will be delivered from presence of sin itself
1.) And
all that goes along with it! - Pain; heartache; the sickness and disease - heart aches - back aches - all gone
E.) Hope we have as Christians that we are "going
to heaven"
Paul makes this very clear in
1 Thess 5:8 - Speaking of the Coming again of our Lord
- "But let us who are of
the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet
the hope of salvation."
A.) Hope is not - I hope I make it. Hope =
Absolute expectation of coming
good! Bank on it!
B.)
Having on the
Helmet of Salvation means that I can stand absolutely assured that He has gone
to prepare a place for me.
1.) Absolutely
assured - He is coming back for me! "I will come
again and receive you to myself"
C.) I have an inheritance in Christ Jesus - that is
incorruptible, undefiled - doesn't fade reserved in heaven for you!
1)
Now The enemy tries to get me focused on this life overly concerned about
this world & the things of this world
I am going to heaven! ASSURANCE
1.)
That Jesus my hope is
coming again - take me to be with
himself
1PE 1:3,4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to
an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you,
D.)Like
a Bride or Bride groom who cant wait to get married Longs for
that day to come quickly / Jesus feels the same way!
Isa.62:5
as the Bridegroom rejoices over his Bride / Lord rejoices
over you